Seidō
Seidō was the Rokugani term for Shrine, The Rising Wave, by Marie Brennan which almost always featured torii arches, a main hall (honden), the worship hall (haiden), a bell tower (shōrō), living quarters, a perfomance stage, a cleansing pavilion (chōzuya), gardens, a reflection pool, and statue guardians. Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, pp. 153-154 Purpose Shrines were an important part of every Rokugani's life, regardless of social status, caste, or profession. Blessings, prayers, offerings, weddings, cleansing, and other important ceremonies were made there. A shrine's attendants brought one into the world, recorded one's birth, and divined one's purpose. After the fifth anniversary of life, one returned to the shrine, received one's childhood name, and was formally introduced to one's ancestors. The shrine was the axle of a person's life. There was no village without some manner of shrine. Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 143 Shrine Clergy Shrine Keepers Shrine keepers were versed in basic rituals, herbalism, lesser divinations, and a collection of folk traditions known as mikodō. They were also charged with a shrine's protection, demonstrating some martial prowess with bows and naginata, or sword-staffs. Because of their martial duties, shrine keepers were usually drawn from the buke; often they were the children of ashigaru or jizamurai. Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 143 Priests Priests were the shrine's administrators and primary caretakers. Their job was to undertake all necessary ceremonies, assist visitors with spiritual needs, and provide advice and guidance. They were capable of basic blessings and auguries and could occasionally entreat the kami through ritual. They could come from any caste, by Priests must demonstrate adequate spiritual knowledge, and also a rapport with the enshrined spirit. Type of Shrines Kami Shrines Shrines to kami were generally simple, often incorporating the landscape or a geographical feature that served as the kami's shintai, and marked with a yorishiro, an object that attracted and pleased kami and benevolent spirits. Kami shrines were typically remote, lacking torii arches and purification basins, but they could be found incorporated into larger shrines. Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 155 Fortunist Shrines Fortunist shrines were often the largest, and they almost always had at least one torii arch and a honden where the shintai was kept. This shintai was usually an object once held by the Fortune or an icon bearing their likeness. A stairway or path leads to the torii arch, followed by a square-shaped enclosed space containing the shrine's other structures. Fortunist shrines were built to be as unobtrusive among natural surroundings as possible. Shrines to the Seven Great Fortunes incorporated into lesser shrines usually resembled shrine-shaped birdhouses and contained miniature versions of everything a fullsized shrine might require. Ancestral Shrines All major shrines devoted a small space for worshiping one's ancestors, an empty altar on which visitors placed the shintai of their ancestor, usually a small wooden tablet bearing the ancestor's name. Every samurai family maintained an ancestral shrine on their grounds, either set aside in a quiet place, or incorporated directly into the home. An object that belonged to each ancestor in life was enshrined there. Great Clan families also maintained shrines, the grandest, to their founders. Rokugani Shrines Nezumi Shrines Category:Populated Areas (TCG) Category:Magic and Religion (TCG) Category:Rokugani Language (TCG)